And the team took this opportunity and ran with it at The Clerico, ending with a third-place finish to close out its fall season, only behind Northwestern and the hosts, Oral Roberts.
Duke fired off two solid rounds before stumbling on the last day of the par-72 Landfall Tradition, finishing second in Wilmington, N.C.
The Blue Devils got their first victory of the season after successfully coming back during the third and final round.
During the fall season, The Chronicle is polling its readers every week via its Sportswrap newsletter to highlight one Blue Devil athlete’s outstanding performance. This week’s spotlight goes to Andie Smith of Duke women's golf.
The Blue Devils got hot and went low by the end of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill. Junior Andie Smith led the charge — breaking records and guiding Duke with consistent below-par play — as the team claimed first overall from behind.
The Blue Devils were once again led by sophomore Bryan Kim, who carded two rounds of even-par (70-75-70 — 215) to finish in 21st place individually. Duke finished 27-over par for a 10th-place finish, two strokes behind ninth-place Kent State.
The preseason-ranked No. 15 Blue Devils handled challenging conditions in an early-season skills test. Duke women’s golf struggled to a 10th-place finish at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Wilmette, Ill.
Despite Duke's strong effort, N.C. State rode along and took the tournament with an impressive final score of 22-under par. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils finished in second place as a team, and ended up with two players inside the top 10 individually: junior Ethan Evans and sophomore Bryan Kim.
The team opened its 51st season finishing tied for fifth at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, Minn. The Blue Devils displayed relative consistency over the three days of competition, finishing at +2 overall on the par-72 course.
Duke men's golf was unable to qualify for the NCAA Championships as a team, but has a bright future ahead with multiple young stars.
Strong winds challenged Duke in early spring but the team quickly adapted. The Blue Devils concluded their season with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championship.
In honor of Duke’s Centennial, the Blue Zone’s new Blast from the Past series highlights pivotal figures and events in Duke sports history. Next, we look at the stars that helped build Duke women's golf.
Duke finished the first three days in the top 15 and accordingly advanced to compete in a fourth round of stroke play. However, match play slipped out of reach as the Blue Devils failed to finish in the top eight after the additional day of competition.
Through the second round, the Blue Devils sat in fourth place, but slipped to seventh with a 3-over third round as the teams around Duke shot in the red that day. Evans tied for second place and punched his ticket to the National Championship as an individual.
With a second place finish at the NCAA Regional in Cle Elum, Wash., the Blue Devils have punched their ticket and are on track for the NCAA Championship. Duke jumped out fast among a 12-team field including top-ranked Stanford and ACC competitors Virginia and Virginia Tech.
The fifth-place Blue Devils left the ACC Championship, hosted in Wilmington, N.C., over the weekend, just one stroke behind North Carolina, the fourth-place finisher and match play qualifier with the highest score.
Duke came in second at the Old Barnwell Match Play in Aiken, S.C., this week after defeating Florida State and Mississippi State and tying South Carolina over three rounds of match play. The Gamecocks claimed the top spot in a tiebreaker based on total holes won over the round against the Blue Devils.
The team wrapped up the final day with a record-breaking score of 30-under-par, 834, and had three golfers among the top ten individuals, including freshman Katie Li who claimed the first overall spot.
Joined on the leaderboard by top-ranked teams like North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia, the Blue Devils, led by sophomore Ethan Evans, rallied on to fifth place, securing their eighth-consecutive top-five finish at The Hat.
Duke struggled with consistency across three rounds, facing challenging winds on the latter two, but had its share of positive showings and moments nonetheless.
